I've had my iPhone 3GS for a month now; so here's my 'pros and cons' review of the iPhone from a business owner's perspective.
1. I love my Mobile RSS reader. I rarely have time to read all the blogs I'd like to when I am at my computer. With my
mobile RSS reader I can educate myself on the train.
2. Being able to check multiple email accounts, and seamlessly reply from any of them (including changing your mind halfway through the email) is a definite plus on the iPhone.
3. I found the Blackberry Curve hurt my thumbs after typing for a while. The iPhone touch keyboard is so handy and smooth on the fingers. And switching to a French keyboard is achieved with a button click--how easy is that?!
4. I plugged in my iPhone to my Macbook Pro and it automatically configured my Mail accounts--folders and all. I was really happy with that.
5. The iPhone comes with hands-free settings for driving. I plugged it into my car dashboard with my $9.99 MP3 cable (which I already had for my iPod) and it brings my calls up through my car speakers, dimming the music along the way. So when I have the phone in my lap: people can hear me, and I can hear them without holding the phone. (Pretty handy since non-hands free is so dangerous--and a $200 fine in Melbourne.)
6. GPS-Camera integrated applications like Everytrail make using my iPhone so much more pleasurable--surely being able to GPS-tracking not only makes me feel safer when bushwalking (I live in Australia -- we have a lot of snakes and spiders!) but sharing your route and photos of places you've seen afterwards is advanced technology at its best!
1. The iPhone 3Gs battery doesn't last much longer than a day. No matter how frequently or how little you use your iPhone 3Gs, you can expect to have to recharge it every night. It can be a little inconvenient to have to recharge your iPhone so much and I don't know how long the battery will last at that rate, or how much worse it will get.
2. My iPhone 3Gs is a bit too long. You can imagine that in a few years time it will be the monstrous phone of the early
cell phone era--the ones that look like giant walkie-talkies now. I wish my iPhone 3Gs was a bit shorter so I could hold it more comfortably in one hand.
3. You have to have a case on the iPhone. It's really nice and slim and sleek on it's own, but the most protective case more than doubles the thickness of the iPhone 3Gs.
4. I'm not sure how it is in other countries, but with Optus in Australia, if you pay for iPhone insurance ($14/month), there is an insurance excess fee! And when they are selling you on iPhone Insurance, they don't tell you about the excess fee on the iPhone insurance when you buy it, which I think is criminal. (The excess fee in combination with your monthly payments practically means you had better need to make an insurance claim in 2 years time because with all of those hidden costs, you will have had enough money to buy a replacement iPhone anyway!) (Actually, by that time, you will likely be able to buy a better model for cheaper on eBay...)
5. Soon awesome applications like the Australian Open will no longer be free--and I consider the awesome free apps to be half of the bonus of getting an iPhone over its main competitor: the Blackberry. The 2010 Vancouver Olympic Apps are already charging. I guess they are an external service, but I'd hoped Apple would pay for the apps.
6. This point unfortunately negates #4 on my "Pros" list: I had to change the password on my macbook pro and then my iPhone IMAP email stopped working entirely. And neither Mac nor my web-hosting server can fix it. In fact, it turns out I'm having the exact same problem as this guy: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1026522.html
What do you love (and advise) before purchasing an iPhone 3Gs?
